The Splintered Flowers
by DhampirTributeX
Summary: Rose and Janine individually find themselves... together.


Janine Hathaway walked the hallway leading to Rose's dormitory. Her feet dragged, the events that transpired just days ago were something that she never expected. She arrived at her door, turned the knob not bothering knocking. "Rose?" She surveyed the room. It was dark but being there during Christmas she knew the layout well. She flicked the light switch and saw Rose lying in bed, the covers up to her chin. She saw a trashcan that was at the side of her bed, overflowing with used tissues. Rose sat-up, looking tired and wary. Eyes red and hallow from crying. Janine carefully sat on the edge of the bed clasping her hands together. This was like Déjà vu. But minus the feeling of mourning and death surrounding them.

"Princess Vasilisa told me you haven't eaten today. Do you want me to bring food here?" Janine was well aware of her trying to reconstruct her sentences that were far from her usual tone. A normal dialogue for her would be "Princess Vasilisa told me you haven't eaten today. That's irresponsible. How can you protect the princess without sustenance? You're putting your life and the princess on the line because of your childish behaviour" Rose looked lifeless. She doubted if she could even walk. But even with the lack of energy she could still produce a shocked look. She tried to hide it by rubbing her eyes.

"I'm not hungry" she said weakly.

"But you haven't eaten since two days ago. Since the… _event. _You used a lot of energy and your body needs to eat" She looked at her pleadingly. For a while she didn't respond "I like fried things. Donuts" Janine wanted to tell her that it wasn't a proper meal. But for now, it was better than nothing. She nodded and left her room going to the cafeteria.

Around her, people were still shaken up. Parents calling, questioning the resort's safety. The board decided to cancel the trip and hurriedly sent the students back to the academy. Parents also weren't sure if it was safer there or outside of the wards. It was for the students to recuperate and a opportunity for their parents to visit them. About half an hour ago the guardians gathered and watched the CCTV video. They managed to get a hold of the footage during their raid. Some winced when they saw the Striogi feed on the Dhamphir boy, Eddie was his name. The tape was condescend and filtered for major events. And there it was, Mr. Ozera attempting to bite Rose's neck. Janine held her breathe, trying to contain her composure. But then she realized that it was all an act. When the strigoi snapped Mason's neck, her heart felt heavy. She rather liked the boy. She remembered his enthusiasm for decapitating strigoi during Christmas. She heard that he and Rose were dating. And she approved of him, rather than that Ivashkov but that doesn't matter now. He's dead. She carefully watched her daughter. Although she needed more training it was rather efficient. When Mia broke the aquarium and Rose hurriedly staked them, she felt pride. She heard Stan mutter "Two Molnija marks for Hathaway" He glanced at her and gave a small smile. After the footage was done Alberta stood in front of them "As you can see, Ms. Hathaway killed two strigoi. She gets two molnija marks" One guardian protested arguing that Rose wasn't a guardian yet. Janine was about to speak but Guardian Belikov got to her "There is no rule stating that a recipient of the mark has to be a guardian. It just says a Dhamphir kills a Strigoi. As evidenced by the video, she deserves it" Some nodded while some didn't comment on it. She noted that she would thank Guardian Belikov later.

A novice receiving a Molnija mark was… unheard of. And she understood why some didn't agree to it. It hurts some of the guardian's pride. Even Dimitri only had eight or so marks. And they consider him a God. With Rose… her Rose… she knew she didn't do it for the marks. It was clear she was unstable when they arrived at the scene. She did it to survive. Up until now she didn't realize what Rose went through. But a part of her knew that killing Strigoi wasn't glamorous. After Alberta dismissed them, Guardian Belikov talked to her privately

"Janine, have you seen Rose? How is she doing?" he had a worried expression on his face. She studied him briefly. He volunteered to train Rose, to help her catch up because of her two year absence. Maybe they formed a friendship of sorts "No, not yet. I'm heading to her dorm. Princess Vasilisa told me she locked herself in her room" Dimitri nodded and thought for a moment "Vacation is not over yet. You should take her somewhere. To get her mind off things. She cared for Mason a lot" Janine looked at him, stunned.

"You know I can't do that. I have to guard Lord Szelzky"

"But he's in the Academy. For a few more weeks. Having two guardians isn't necessary with the existing security. She needs it, you and I know it" His accent getting thick. Dimitri looked at her hopefully.

She considered for a moment. He was right, Rose does need an escape. But she isn't sure if she wants it with her. Their relationship was still on amend. The students were still on vacation. And technically she was too.

"Okay, supposedly if I say yes, I don't know where to take her to" Janine thought of places. They could go to Scotland but that meant she had to face her family. They weren't really happy with her having a baby out of wedlock. So Scotland was out of the question.

"Rose likes the sun. Take her somewhere sunny. Last time I checked we aren't Moroi" Dimitri said jokingly. She shot him an annoyed look. His request was absurd, and what was crazier was that she was considering it. She placed her hands on her hips and thought for a while.

"I know where to take her"

"Where?"

"Istanbul"

She gripped the brown paper bag filled with donuts while the other held a steaming cup of hot chocolate. She was glad they had donuts at this time of night. Which was rather early for humans, but for Moroi, their day just ended. The cafeteria lady shot her a puzzled look when she requested for donuts. She was already packing things up for the day. But as all Moroi knew, Dhamphir always had a big appetite. She thanked the lady and went back to the dorms. As she came closer, she became a bit nervous. How would she tell her? And how would she react? Maybe she could do a guardian approach 'Pack your bags. Don't ask any questions' that would be fine, If Rose didn't go through something so traumatic.

When she entered the room Rose sat on bed, crossed legged and was staring at the wall. The door shutting brought her back to reality. She handed her the bag and placed the cup on her bedside table. Rose slowly opened the bag, inhaling the smell of cinnamon. Janine took the chair from her study table and placed it right next to her bed. Sitting down, she watched Rose down the doughnut and took out another one from the bag. At this point if she didn't stop to take a drink, she would choke. Janine crossed her legs, waiting for Rose to finish. Even as a toddler, Rose always had a sweet tooth. And it was always a inconvenience to satisfy it. It was mostly her father's fault for introducing her to commercialized human sweets during one of his visits. She remembered the first time she took a bite of a chocolate pop tart. Her face filled with bliss. But the end product? A Dhamphir baby with hyper energy.

Rose formed the brown bag into a ball and tossed it in the trashcan from across the room, not missing the hole. She took a big gulp of the now cold chocolate and studied her mother. This was odd, very odd. Judging from Lissa's relationship with her Mom this 'thing' was normal. But her mother is a different story. "So…" Rose spoke up.

Janine shifted in her chair, beginning to become uncomfortable "I came here to talk to you about something," Rose raised her eyebrows but urged her to continue "I was thinking of taking you out of here" Rose stared at her, eyed wide with shock "What?" Rose asked

"For a week only, I'll bring you back before class starts,"

Rose had a hard time of processing this. What does she exactly mean by taking her out? Her mother always had different definitions of things. She blamed her scottishness for that .

"What do you mean? On a another vacation?"

Janine nodded.

AN

Please tell me what you think? Your review is highly appreciated ^^


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